Herbert M. Lachman, MD

Dr. Lachman can be reached at herb.

lachman@einsteinmed.

edu

Dr. Herbert Lachman is a physician and behavioral geneticist interested in the molecular and genetic basis of schizophrenia (SZ), autism spectrum disorders (ASD), bipolar disorder (BD), and intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The lab’s primary research projects involve the use of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) for modeling neuropsychiatric disorders in vitro. Patient-specific iPCS are generated from skin fibroblasts or CD34+ white blood cells, which are ultimately induced to differentiate into neurons, cerebral organoids, and microglia. Epigenetic analysis and gene expression profiling for protein-coding genes, long non-coding RNAs and microRNAs are then carried out. In addition, the lab also studies the effects of some candidate genes of interest on endosome recycling, innate immune phenomena, neurite outgrowth, and, in collaboration with members of the neuroscience department, electrophysiolgical properties of pure cultures of human glutamatergic neurons and GABAergic interneurons.

In addition, the lab uses gene knockdown and CRISPR knockout approaches to study the effects of SZ, ASD and IDD candidate genes on neurogenesis and gene expression. We are particularly interested in those candidate genes that function as transcription factors and chromatin remodeling complexes. The lab has also recently developed an interest in environmental factors that might play a role in SZ and ASD pathogenesis, in particular, the role of the immune system. This has led to a new interest in pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome (PANS), an enigmatic neuroinflammatory disorder. The Lachman lab has developed iPSC models for 22q11.

2 deletion syndrome, the most common abnormality found in SZ, CHD8 haploinsufficiency, which causes IDD and ASD, Lowe Syndrome, an X-linked disorder that causes IDD and renal proximal tubulopathy, and Jansen de Vries Syndrome, which is caused by mutations in the tumor suppressor gene, PPM1D.